Homelessness has never been the first thing people think when hearing about Farmington and Farmington Hills. But as many can now attest, there are plenty of homeless individuals and families in suburban communities.

That’s the impetus behind the creation of a new dedicated fund by the Farmington-Farmington Hills Foundation for Youth & Families. The new effort was announced a week ago during the foundation’s annual Heart & Soul Gala.

“This fund is for families dealing with homelessness in our communities,” said Eunice Jeffries, foundation executive director. “It is designated just for that purpose.”

For Jeffries and foundation board members, the new fund is what the youth and families organization is all about. “Applications for help look a lot different today than they did 20 years ago.”

In a special appeal during the sold-out Heart & Soul Gala, participants raised $7,500 in about seven minutes to get the new fund off the ground — with a total $50,000 raised for foundation grants and activities to help the community.

“In our special appeals, we shared the numbers (of homeless families and individuals) and we accepted donations,” Jeffries said.

Today, there are 170 students from 112 families in the Farmington Public Schools who are homeless, Jeffries said. Community leaders, however, suspect there are even more who are reaching out to other area organizations.

Last year, for example, the Farmington-Farmington Hills Neighborhood House worked with 23 homeless families and individuals, according to Loretta Zahn.

According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Michigan has approximately 12,227 homeless people. But state officials have disputed HUD’s statistics, claiming that the numbers of homeless in the state total more than 92,000.

The foundation will make funding available through grants in April and October of each year to help the community’s homeless. “Families can’t call me directly for funds. But if Neighborhood House, for example, needs to help families, we can provide a grant,” Jeffries said. “This is exactly the spirit of why the foundation was created.”